Johnson on Aleppo gaffe: ‘I’m human’

{mosads}”Yes, I understand the dynamics of the Syrian conflict — I talk about them every day. But hit with ‘What about Aleppo?’, I immediately was thinking about an acronym, not the Syrian conflict. I blanked. It happens, and it will happen again during the course of this campaign,” he said.

“Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes,” he added. 

 

The former New Mexico governor said that while in office “there were many things I didn’t know off the top of my head,” so he surrounded himself with people who could help him understand issues, which he argued would happen as president.

“That would begin, clearly, with daily security briefings that, to me, will be fundamental to the job of being President,” he said.

“What would you do if you were elected about Aleppo?” MSNBC political commentator Mike Barnicle asked Johnson minutes into an interview.

“And what is Aleppo?” Johnson asked.
 
“You’re kidding,” Barnicle said.
 
“No,” Johnson responded. 
 
“Aleppo is in Syria,” Barnicle replied. “It’s the epicenter of the refugee crisis.”
 
“OK, got it, got it,” Johnson said, quickly moving on to discuss the conflict in Syria, calling it “a mess.”